


Red Iris

by TheBestTeacup



Category: The 100
Genre: Abby being badass doctor, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Poisoning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-10
Updated: 2016-02-10
Packaged: 2018-05-19 14:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5970862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBestTeacup/pseuds/TheBestTeacup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marcus has to face one of his greatest fears</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red Iris

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tiph](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiph/gifts).



She should have seen it sooner.

When Marcus stood beside her sweaty and swaying on his feet, she had thought it was from his rigorous actions on the battlefield. She was so happy to see he had survived the gruesome attack that had been issued by the Ice Nation, that she did not consider his condition with any seriousness.

“Sit down;” she had told him, her hand on his arm and a warm smile on her lips, “you have earned it.”

He ignored her, of course, because he was Marcus and his job was never done. He ignored her and moved about medical reassuring the fallen men, as they awaited the assistance of Arkadia medical staff, and Grounder healers. Abby was too busy to argue with him, and didn’t pay his presence any mind as she worked at stitching up wounds and administering pain medication. Marcus was a grown man, and if he wanted to wear himself down that was his business. He wouldn’t appreciate her mothering him.

If only she had mothered him.

It was well past midnight, and she was finishing up on her final patient- a grounder no older than 15 who had a rather nasty wound across his face- when a startled yell from Jackson had her turning.

For a moment she was going to reprimand her assistant for being too loud when they had resting patients, but then her eyes fell on Marcus who lay in a crumpled heap on the floor, his body convulsing. Her whole body froze for about three seconds, the sight of another loved one so close to death being too much to bear, before instinct kicked in and she was running across the room, peeling her soiled gloves from her hands.

“Clarke,” she yelled to her daughter who had been on hand since the end of the battle, “finish stitching up that patient!”

The girl gave her mom a startled look, not used to hearing the older woman sound so panicked in the medical arena, before moving to do what she was told. Not that Abby would have noticed, her focus was on the pale and sweaty man who was still seizing at Jackson’s stunned feet.

“He was fine Abby,” the assistant sputtered, “one minute he was telling me I did good, and the next he-“

“Jackson, just help me,” she snapped as she fell to her knees and placed her hands on Marcus’ head trying to hold it steady. As soon as she touched him she let out a distressed sob, he was burning up with fever. How long had he been suffering and she hadn’t noticed?

“Marcus,” she cooed, as the man’s seizing began to slow down, “Marcus, I need you to relax and focus on me, please.”

He had stilled completely, his body limp, and there was one painful, heart wrenching moment in which Abby thought the worst, before he gave a shaky breath and his eyes opened the tiniest bit.

“Abby?”

A relieved sob escaped her and she stroked his hair, “Hey there.”

He looked around confusion and panic setting in, “What…what is going on?”

“You passed out,” she offered, her hand stroking his cheek in a soothing gesture, “Something is making you sick. You have a fever. Can you tell me if you have any pain in one particular area?”

Marcus groaned, and shook his head, “Everything hurts.”

“He has Red Iris poisoning.”

Abby’s forced her gaze away from Marcus’ pained one, and she shot a questioning look to Nyko who had come to kneel beside her, “How would he have gotten that?”

Nyko studied the man on the floor, and before anyone could protest, forced him into a sitting position so he could rip his coat off. Marcus let out a pain filled cry, and Abby went to protest, when the sight of blood on Marcus’ shoulder caused her to pause.

“You were injured.”

Marcus eased himself back on the floor, his body trembling, “It is just a scratch. A spear nicked me. Nothing to worry about.”

“It was tipped with poison, my friend,” Nyko murmured, his eyes heavy with concern.

Marcus laughed, and Abby wanted to hit him for his callous attitude, but she knew enough to know he was becoming delirious so she contained her rage.

“Nyko, please tell me there is an antidote.”

The man nodded and moved away, returning a second later with a vile full of a greenish liquid, “This should be the right dose.”

Nodding, she took the vile and moved to lift it to Marcus’ lip, when the healer halted her.

“It needs to be injected.”

Below them Marcus let out a keening cry at the words, and Abby paled, “Nyko…are you sure? There has to be some other way?”

The man gave her a confused look and shook his head, “No, this is the only way. Is there a problem?”

Closing her eyes, and trying to ignore the pitiful cries from the man who was now clasping her hand tightly, she took a deep breath and looked over her shoulder at Jackson. “I need a syringe,” she ordered, her thumb stroking Marcus’ grasping hand, “and Nyko I might need you to hold him down.”

“Abby,” Marcus whimpered, his eyes blown wide with fear, “Abby, no, please. No needles.”

Abby bit back a sob at his desperate tone, and leaned close, running her fingers through his hair, “I know you don’t like this sweetheart, but it is the only way.”

Marcus shook his head, his delirium clouding his judgment, and he tried to jerk away, “Please, no Abby, please. Let me die. No needles please.”

“You don’t mean that Marcus,” she whispered, “I know you are in a lot of pain, and you are scared. I know you don’t want this. But you have to listen to me, because I am your chancellor and I will be damned if you are going to die today. Got it?”

He kept shaking his head, and tried to pull away from her as Jackson handed her the prepared syringe, but Nyko held him steady.

“Abby,” the medicine man whispered, eyes heavy with grief, “maybe I should do this. I don’t want you to-“

“No,” she insisted, her right hand continuing to stroke Marcus’ hair as her left brought the needle down towards his arm, “I need to be the one, just hold him still.”

Nyko nodded, and made sure the arm that was taking the shot was steady, while also keeping Marcus still with a firm hand on his chest.

“Abby, Abby, no,” Marcus was whispering over and over, “no…please…no.”

Abby made sure the needle was where she needed it to be before she rested her forehead against his, “Marcus darling, just look at me, don’t think about anything else. Just look at me.”

He stilled slightly as they made eye contact, and she took the moment of relaxation to push the needle into his skin and release the anti-venom into his system.

There was a second of calm after she finished, and Abby was breathing a sigh of relief before Marcus seized up again, his whole body trembling and a pained scream falling from his lips.

“What is happening!?” she cried, looking at Nyko in alarm.

“This is normal, the medicine burns, but it will pass shortly.”

“You couldn’t have warned me?” she reached out and gripped Marcus’ face again pressing soothing kisses to his brow as he writhed and sobbed.

“I didn’t want to alarm him more.”

It only took minutes for Marcus to relax, but to Abby it felt like hours as she soothed him and prayed he would be okay. It almost seemed unreal when he finally relaxed, his eyes fluttering as he tried to fight sleep.

“Abby,” he whispered, his grip now soft in hers, “I feel better.”

She laughed and sobbed at his simple words, and kissed him hard on the mouth, “Go to sleep. I need you well rested so I can give you a stern talking to in the morning.”

“Yes, ma’am. Whatever my chancellor wishes.”


End file.
